Saturday, December 14, 2013

It looks a bit different now to when we left 5 years ago!
My Melbourne garden was my first garden.
I grew beautiful purple wisteria and golden yellow roses.
Pinky apricot climbing roses (Crepsucule) and scarlet Virginia Creepers and burgandy-coloured grape vines.Lipstick orange-red maples and pretty pink camellias.
Sadly since turning the property over to tenants who aren't keen gardeners, only half the plants remain.

But a new challenge has arisen.
Trying to create a self-maintaining garden that looks reasonably attractive.
I guess colour is the first casualty of a neglected garden.
I wonder why that is?

The existing climbing roses required too much maintenance for our non-gardener tenants and our infrequent visits, so I have opted to replace them with bush roses.
Last Spring I planted four along the front fence - only two remain:-
This beauty - Belle du Seigneur (beauty of the lord??)

and this one Bordure Camaieu - here's what camaieu means - a fairly apt description.
It's covered in buds - fingers crossed they last the summer.
If they don't - I think I am going to introduce an irrigation system to the garden.
Both roses are Delbard Roses - distributed in Australia by Rankins Roses.
I have a couple of these roses in my Ararat garden
and they really stand up to the conditions and always have such lovely colours.

Pressed for time, I had to choose from what little was available at the local Bunnings.
The Ballarat Bunnings and Toowoomba Bunnings garden sections are always fantastic.
The Melbourne ones - bleh.
Anyway... I picked these two.
I have a Parkinson's Passion at Pendlebury Hill and I find it to be a very jolly, hardy, long-flowering creature,
so hopefully it will thrive in Melbourne.
The other is an unknown quantity but I do love a bright yellow rose.
Let's see how long these ones last!

I am.....

A glutton for punishment - 5 gardens - ridiculous!But I LOVE it!Sometimes it drives me bonkers but it's absolutely exhilarating trying to keep on top of it all and continue to create and dream.I have 3 gardens in south-west Victoria.1 garden in Melbourne, Victoria.And 1 garden in south-east Queensland.A constant source of joy, satisfaction and soul-soothing.